CTMH: Kaboom! It's a Blog Hop!

Sorry, I know that's a terrible title.  I just couldn't help myself.  :)  Welcome to another Stamp-of-the-Month Blog Hop!  If you've arrived here from Lori's blog, you're on the right track.

We are creating with a super fun set called, you guessed it, Kaboom!  Here is what the entire set looks like:

The images are so fun and will be great for so many events along with Canada Day celebrations, and yes, Fourth of July, for our friends in the south.  ;)  

When I started thinking about what I would create for this hop, I knew it would be perfect for a box card.  I had been wanting to try one for a while and after messing up once with the wrong measurements, I love how it turned out.  Here is what it looks like flat:

And here is what it looks like opened up:

We are celebrating my daughter's ninth birthday this weekend, so I made this card with her in mind.  I love all the fun parts that pop right up!  She thought I was trying to trick her with the Admit One ticket.  :)  It was actually kind of funny to watch her try to figure it out.  I used a piece of cardstock to write a message on the back of the card.  I can't believe she's NINE years old!  

Now, you can hop on over to Michelle's blog and check out what she's created for your inspiration.  Don't forget, this stamp set is only available for the month of June.  Contact your CTMH consultant to order yours.

Happy Creating!  (I'm still celebrating.)

Supplies Used:

Free to Be Me paper pack

Art Philosophy Cricut collection

Honey ink

Ruby ink

Lagoon ink

Black ink

Lagoon cardstock

White Daisy cardstock

Atlantic Hearts Sketch #40: Gear Up Birthday Card

Hello and welcome to another Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge.  This is my final post as a member of the design team, sad, I know, but I hope to participate in the future.  I had a lot of fun with this sketch!

Here is the card I made:

I used a brand new stamp set called Robot Family.  It's so cute!  I stamped all the images and sentiments in Memento Black ink and coloured the robot in with a Metallic silver marker as well as a combination of Whisper, Slate and Indian Corn Blue markers.  Here's a close up of that adorable robot so you can see the shimmer:

I also stamped the inside.  I love the sentiment that goes with this set!  My daughter thought it was pretty funny, when she finally understood it.  :)

Well, that's it for me as a design team member.  I hope you'll continue to play along and have fun with the fabulous sketches.  Make sure to create something this week and link it up here.

Happy Creating!

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #32: Happy Birthday!

Welcome to another sketch challenge at Atlantic Hearts!  This week's sketch is so incredibly verstile.  I couldn't wait to play with it.  Here it is:

Can you just imagine the possibilities with this one?  Here's my take on it:

This is one of the cards for my upcoming Cricut Birthday Cards workshop.  Want to see more?  Like my Facebook page for more information.  It'll be posted soon.

Here's what I used for this card: 

Artbooking and Art Philosophy Cricut Collections

Whisper, Slate, White Daisy, Juniper, Honey, and Sunset cardstock

Black Mini-Medley

3-D Foam Tape

Now, get creating and make sure to link up to Atlantic Hearts.  You may be chosen top three!

Happy Creating!

Happy Birthday with Washi Tape and Roar!

Today is my son's birthday.  As of 5:30 this evening, he will be 6 years old!  Hard to believe.  He's so fun, most of the time.  ;)

He's my silly, cuddly, expressive, dino- and machine-loving, snuggly, bundle of energy and he's my favourite boy.  Okay, he's my only boy so I can say that.  I love him to bits!  He certainly keeps things interesting in our home.  

I made this quick card for him yesterday and popped it in his backpack before he left for school today.

 

I used strips of washi tape, from lots of different companies, choosing lots of green and all the gray I could find because those are his favourite colours.  The dinosaur is from a stamp set called Roar!  The "ribbon" is two strips of washi folded in half and stapled to the tag, which I popped up.  T-rex is stamped in Topiary and rolled in New England Ivy.  I guess I should have used a different Black ink or waited a bit before I stamped it because it ended up running a bit.  Oh well, my boy won't care.  I'm living with the imperfection.  :)

Now, I'm off to make (or find in my stash) an "official" birthday card and wrap some presents.

Happy Creating!

Using up the Old, Quick and Easy and Flat(?)

I realized recently that I didn't have many birthday cards in my stash.  I have made some lovely ones, but they were very bulky and would have cost quite a bit to mail and required a special envelope, etc, etc.  So I made a goal for myself: Use up some old product and make "mailable" birthday cards!  Over the next few posts, I'll share the cards I made with you.  Here are the first ones:

These first two use the retired Miracle paper, Stickese, and Kraft borders.  I've also added some Sparkles and some embellishment with a Pearl Pen.

These two are made with Mischief paper, Felt Shapes, Mayberry paper and Stickese, and some more Sparkles.

This last one is from a promotion way back in my first year as a consultant, I think, called Seredipity.  I added a couple Sparkles as well.

It's fun to add lots of dimension to our cards, with all kinds of layers and rolled flowers and all sorts of other goodies, but sometimes you need to simplify.  I'm quite pleased with how these turned out and they went together very quickly.

Stay tuned for more "mailable" cards.  Happy Creating!

Sneak Peeks, Here They Come!

Wow, I can't believe that I haven't posted anything for a month!  So sorry about that.  Life was just more important than my blog, and bad colds got in the way, too.  I've got a bunch of fun posts lined up, though, starting with the Cross Canada Blog Hop going live at 3am!  Not sure if you'll be up at that time, but check it out when you wake up, or if you've signed up to receive my posts by email, watch your inbox!  (If you haven't done that, just enter your email address to the right.)

I promised on my facebook page that I would post some sneak peeks of new product on my blog and well, I've been a bit slow on that, so I'm making it up.  Watch here for lots of great peeks at fabulous product you can begin purchasing on Feb. 1.  But let me get started.  This is what you will see as soon as you get your catalogue from me.

Isn't this a gorgeous cover?!?!  I love the colours in this paper packet, called Chantilly.

Next up is a shot of a beautiful card with some fun new products like glitter paper and the new Perfect Fit-Birthday stamp set as well as some fun new accessories.

As you may have read I got to play with new product this past weekend at my first retreat.  I got 2 boxes full of brand new goodies on Friday, before I left for the weekend.  Want to get in on the excitement earlier than the rest of your friends?  The only way to do that is to join my Simply Creating Team as a Close To My Heart Independent Consultant. 

Why join CTMH?

• As a consultant, you get to order brand new product a whole month before anyone else.  
• You can be a part of a growing, supportive team that loves to have FUN!  Boy, do we have a great time when we get together.  
• You'll get all the training you need, from me, from our corporate office and from our Training Academy, and attend our annual convention (which is at Disney World in Florida this year!).  
• You can make your own hours, fit your business in around your family.  
• And on top of all that, get PAID for doing what you love: stamping, scrapbooking and papercrafting!  

Have I got you thinking?  I hope so.  I'm looking for excited, "ready-to-try-something-new" people to join our team.  Now is an excellent time to do so.  Why?  You will get the brand new Consultant Kit when you sign up.  That means more brand new product in your hands before anyone else!  Here is what is included in the kit:  

(Some items may not be shown. Contents are subject to change without notice.)

• Includes a Read Me First Letter, Current Idea Books (qty. 3), 
• Hostess Order Forms (qty. 5), 
• Customer Order Forms (qty. 5), 
• Close To My HeartColor Swatches (W471), 
• Spring/Summer 2013 B&T Duos® Sampler (W1123), 
• Petite Perks™ Critter Expressions Incentive Stamp Set (W2025), 
• Chantilly Complements Dimensional Elements (X7163C), 
• Workshops on the Go® Chantilly Scrapbooking Kit (G1053), 
• Reflections® Scrapbook Program (9037), 
• Originals Card Confidence Program® (9036), 
• Buttercup Exclusive Inks® Pad (Z2110), 
• Cotton Candy Exclusive Inks® Pad (Z2193), 
• Spinner (Z1832), 
• My Acrylix® Wheel of Life Stamp Set (D1545), 
• My Acrylix® For a Friend Stamp Set (D1542), 
• and a 4” x 5” My Acrylix® Block (Y1012). 

How much does it cost you to start your own business?  Just $49! Think you might be willing to invest just $49?  Email me at simplycreating@hotmail.com and we can either get together over coffee and chat or we can make a phone date.  I can answer all your questions and give you some details. 

I look forward to hearing from you!

Happy Creating.

Pun Fun, Belated Birthday Card

A while ago I had to send a birthday card to someone, almost 3 weeks after their birthday!  I felt terrible for forgetting to pop a card in the mail, so I decided to make them smile with a silly little card.  It was Pun Fun to the rescue!

I completely fell in love with this stamp set when I saw it and it's even more fun to work with.  I apologize for the quality of my photos, I had to snap them quickly in my studio with my phone.  Here's the front:

Yup, that's the front!  Hee hee.  I wanted to reinforce the "I'm soooo late" theme.  I stamped this turtle in Archival Black ink.  I did cut the sentiment off the image so I can use the turtle for other events.  (No, I won't ever need the belated birthday sentiment again.  Nope.  I won't!)  Then I turned my attention to the inside:

Yes, this is the inside.  The turtle is again stamped with Archival Black ink and then coloured with our alcohol marker sets.  The markers bleed through, so I stamped him on another piece of cardstock and to make him even more fun, I popped him up with foam tape.  I can't remember the exact colours I used, but I think it's the Olive and Twilight sets. (Can I just say how much I LOVE our alcohol markers?  I do, I love them.  Might just turn into a "colour-er" yet!)

I hope you got a little chuckle out of this card.  I'm sure my recipient did, too.  :)

Happy Creating!

CTMH You Rock Clear Birthday Card

I'm going to take a little break from Studio J to show you the latest card I made.  I make a lot of cards, usually for a workshop I'm hosting or for gatherings. As a result I have a lot of cards that I can pick from when I need to send one to someone.  In my last post I mentioned it was my birthday.  But, I don't think many of you know that I'm actually a twin.  Yup, I have a twin brother, whom I love dearly.  We've always been very close.  He's pretty special.  We don't often get to spend our birthday together anymore and I miss that.  The fact that I miss it is ironic, since all I really wanted when I was a kid was my own birthday!   On Monday, our actual birthday, my brother, Tony, and his wife, Theresa, met my husband and I at our place and we got to celebrate over dinner at my favourite restaurant, The Mongolian Grill.  I knew I had to make a special card just for him.

I love the size of CTMH's new clear cards and I had fun with this one.  If you know Tony, you know he is a worship leader at his church and has been playing guitar since he was a teenager.  The patterned paper is from You Rock Level 2.  I stamped the guitar, from the Star Power stamp set, in Outdoor Denim and then embossed it three times with Clear Detail embossing powder.  The banner, from Party Pennants, is stamped with Olive and Outdoor Denim.  I used the Sea Foam tool from the Texture Tools to distress the edges of the papers.  Those little Olive stars on the front and the larger one on the inside are from CTMH's Glitter rub-ons.  The sentiment on the inside is from Party Pennants as well.

I hope this gives you some ideas for the guys in your life.  My brother liked it, especially when he read the sappy stuff I wrote in it.  I couldn't help myself; I was feeling very emotional.  My next Studio J layout will have photos of him.  Big hugs to you ... Freak!

Happy Creating!

8 Birthday Cards for the Kids in Your Life

These are the cards we made at my workshop last month.  They use a variety of papers and stamp sets and were so fun to do! 

First up are four little Double Scraplings, a design by Vicki Wizniuk.  You can choose the template for these cuties when you purchase a hand-made card from Vicki.  Check out her blog here.

 These two cards were made using the retired Leve 2 kit, Whoops-a-Daisy and Piece of Cake and Thoughtful Seasons stamp sets.

This set uses another retired paper pack, Rough 'n' Tumble.  The stamp sets used were Thoughtful Seasons and Robot Power.

I just love Waterfall cards!  This perfect-for-boys card was made with Rough 'n' Tumble paper again, and the Birthday Boy stamp set.  We coloured in the images with marker and using a blending pen with ink.

This card was also made with the Whoops-a-Daisy paper pack.  We used the Little Princess stamp set.  The images were heat embossed with silver embossing powder and then coloured with watercolour pencils and a blending pen.  My daughter loves this card, saying she wants it for her birthday, which would be a great idea.  Unfortunately her birthday is in May, so she's got a bit of a wait.  We'll see if this one actually makes it to her.

These cards are great for teens.  They are called Double Diagonal Pocket cards and have a spot for a little tag and a gift card.  Go to Splitcoast Stampers to find the tutorial.  They both use You Rock Level 2, believe it or not.  I think it's so neat how one paper pack can be used for both genders.  We just used different papers from the pack and focused on different colours.  The stamp sets we used were Star Power, Say it in Style and Be yourself.  We also added some Glitz Glitter Gel to add some bling. 

It was a lot of fun making cards specifically for kids and teens, not as hard as I thought it would be.  I'd love to see some of the cards you've made for kids and teens.  Post a link in the comments!

Happy Creating!

July Stamp-of-the-Month Blog Hop

Welcome to the month of July!  Wow, summer is here.  July is a very exciting month for me.  I'm just days away from leaving for Washington, DC for our annual convention!  It's my first time and so I'm over-the-moon that I get to go this year.  My next post will be from convention ... I hope.  Oh, and if you're here before 9am eastern time on the 1st, you can still order the Big Goodie Box that is full of 58% discounted items.  Just click on the Jackpot image on the right.

Enough about that, on to this adorable stamp set!  This month we have almost 70 consultants participating!  If you came from Carol's blog, you're in the right spot.  If this is your first stop, just keep hopping until you get back here and you'll have seen every beautiful piece of artwork. 

Have you ever seen cuter little hedgehogs?  I love these little sweeties.  It was fun coming up with the perfect project for this hop.  I really wanted to try my hand at the easel cards I keep seeing everywhere.  I'm quite pleased with how mine turned out.

I used the Twitterpated Level 2 paper pack.  I paper pieced the kite and little butterflies, and spnged the edges of everything with chocolate ink.  I chose not to colour in the hedgehog, letting the little bow by her ear pull the eye.  The ribbons are from the Sorbet and Chocolate Ribbon Rounds collections.  I think this just might be my daughter's birthday card next year ... but can I wait that long to use it to make someone smile?  We'll see.

Ready to see more artwork?  Just hop on over to Judy's blog and check it out.  If you get lost along the way, just click here to go to Kathleen's blog where there is a complete list of all the participating blogs.

Happy Creating!

It's the May SOTM Blog Hop!

It's a new month and that means a new Stamp-of-the-Month is available.  It also means we have another blog hop.  If you've come from Kimberly Smith's blog, you're on the right track.  If this is your first stop, just keep clicking until you get back here and you will have seen all the gorgeous artwork!  This month's stamp set is lovely.  It has some fabulous images that are perfect for adding a classic look to a card or layout, celebrating just about anything.

May also means that a new Idea Book is going live to customers.  I have chosen to use some brand new products on my card.

In fact, the card itself is new!  It's one of our new clear cards.  We have scallop circle ones and square ones with rounded corners.  I loved working with this one, my first clear card!  I also used our new Splendor paper pack, the cloud paper is one of my favourite new patterns in the whole book!  The flower and leaf are our new Irresistibles Pizzaz and the brad is a new Designer Brad that matches the Splendor pack.  Here are a couple more views:

The design is a pattern from Wishes, one of our How-To Programs.  I divided the pattern between the inside and front of the card.  You can see what I mean in the next photo.

And now, it's time to move on to the next blog, Angela Tutton.  Keep hopping to see the fabulous work she's created.  If you get lost along the way, Helen will have the whole list of participants on her blog.
Happy Creating!

February Stamp-of-the-Month Blog Hop and Club Layout

A new month has arrived and that means another stamp-of-the-month blog hop!  If you came here from Tanya's blog, you're on the right track.  If this is your first stop, just keep hopping until you get back here and you will have seen everything! 
This month's stamp set is called Piece of Cake and it's full of yummy goodies.  Here is what it looks like:

Isn't it sweet?

Here is the project I made.  We're doing a birthday layout at our club on Friday, so this stamp set was perfect.  My layout will be used for my son's first birthday.

I used a pattern from Imagine, Animal Cookies paper pack, Playful alphabets, and White Daisy embellishments.  I also used a black rub-on for the number one, and my blending pen to colour the cake.  All the papers' edges are sponged with Desert Sand ink.  Can't wait to get my photos and journaling on this one!

Now it's time to hop on to Traci's blog and check out her beautiful artwork.  Happy Creating!

Challenge samples.

I know some of you have been waiting to see some examples from me. I've been busy getting ready for gatherings and learning about the new products and programs at Close To My Heart, so I apologize that it's taken me a few days. Here are a couple of cards.

This first one was made using our current stamp-of-the-month, It's Your Day, and Boutique Borders. This was my second try and I'm still not completely happy with it. I may just try another one, without that cute cake. I used the masking technique on the gifts and 2nd and 3rd generation stamping on the border. The colours were taken from Jeanette Lynton's Colour Me Monday challenge, although I had to switch up the Moonstruck for Dutch Blue. That's one ink colour I don't have yet. If you'd like to know more about the masking technique, let me know and I'll do a tutorial for it.


I love this second card! I love how it turned out. I started with a picture in my head, actually it's been there ever since I decided on this challenge and I finally got to make it last night. I used a cloud mask to sponge Heavenly Blue on the top of the card. The cloud is actually from the Childhood stamp set. Then, using another of Jeanette's colour challenges and September's stamp-of-the-month, Treasures, I stamped the images. I even got creative with the inside, which is something I don't do too often. I love those little fly away guys.


So now you've got a sneak peak at next month's SOTM set. I'll post some more artwork with both of these when I get a chance. I'm going to try a layout, too! Don't forget, I'll be awarding prizes this time around, one for a card and one for a layout.

Happy Creating!